2014 Kia Soul Adds Red Zone Special Edition

Kia announced today that it will spice up its funky 2014 Soul hatchback with a special edition package. The Kia Soul has historically been offered with limited-run models, and it appears the second-generation Soul will be no different. The first of those, the 2014 Kia Soul Red Zone, was apparently inspired by the Kia Track'ster Concept shown at the 2012 Chicago auto show.

As on that show car, the 2014 Kia Soul Red Zone wears white paint and a more aggressive body kit with red accents. (The Red Zone remains a four-door hatch, though, whereas the Track'ster was a two-door affair.) A new front fascia has a wider black-mesh lower grille, with a red accent stripe running between the car's fog lights, plus a red outline for the upper tiger-nose grille. New side skirts have red accents and a white "Soul" logo, and a special rear fascia which is styled to look like an aerodynamic diffuser also picks up the red accent.

New 18-inch wheels, red-stitched seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and black floor mats with red piping continue the visual upgrade inside. The 2014 Kia Soul Red Zone also has had its shift knob, dashboard speaker trim, air vents, and center-console trim painted red to match the Red Zone theme. The car is based on a 2014 Kia Soul +, and thus comes with that model's 164-hp, 2.0-liter inline-four engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

Pricing for the Red Zone model has not yet been announced, but a standard 2014 Kia Soul + starts at $18,995 after destination. Just 2000 units will be sold, with the first Red Zone cars arriving in showrooms in the first quarter of 2014.